10 May 2023 , 16:58
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Bookmakers slashed the odds of Frankie Dettori winning the Derby in his final season yesterday – but his horse might not even run.
Arrest became the new favourite with some firms after his six-and-a-half length rout at soggy Chester. Brushing aside pre-race fears over his fitness, John and Thady Gosden's trainee sluiced through the mud to inflict a heavy defeat on Adelaide River.
There was a ten-length gap to the third Hadrianus, while the other two runners were virtually pulled up. Dettori admitted some cut in the ground is essential for his intended Epsom mount, as low as 4-1 (from 10-1) for the Betfred-sponsored Classic.
"He couldn't have won any easier," said the jockey, who took it on Authorized in 2007 and Golden Horn eight years later.
"We always thought a bit of him. My main concern, if it was good to firm at Epsom, he might find it a bit of a challenge."
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Savethelastdance (8-11f) waltzed her way to the top of the Oaks betting with an astonishing 22-length romp on the card.
Dettori won the Derby in 2007 on Authorized and eight years later riding Golden Horn – another horse from Gosden stable (PA)Slow to start, Ryan Moore gave her time to find her stride and he was handsomely rewarded. From the top of the straight, Aidan O'Brien's record-extending eighth winner of the Listed Cheshire Oaks pulled miles clear of the pack.
The performance, backed up by the clock, saw her Epsom odds fall to 6-4 with William Hill.
“They kind of all gave up with half a mile to go and she was just getting going," Moore said after the Weatherbys Digital Solutions- sponsored contest. "I was very impressed."
O'Brien has trained the winner of the Oaks for the past three years – but none of his previous Chester triallists have raced on to glory in it.
Lingfield's Saturday prep races for Epsom, on June 2-3 this year, have been switched to the all-weather track as the turf is waterlogged.